A Steady Peace
by ayapapayam
Summary: After announcing his new identity as Iron Man, the only peace that Tony Stark can find is Pepper Potts. But all she sees is the man he was. When will she see the man he has become? As violence begins to rule his life he must choose. Iron Man, or Pepper?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: If you recognize the characters or places, they are not mine. Obviously. Besides that, everything is original.**

**=An Interesting Situation=**

Pepper gave him a sly look as they exited, chins professionally high as they left behind them the roar of furious interrogations and shouted exclamations. "Always a flair for the dramatic, Mr. Stark?" she quipped primly. His lips twitched faintly with humor as he walked through the office, the regular flurry of papers and low voices murmuring steadily as he strode intently through the room. News of their boss's new identity had not yet reached the floor.

"Is mine hard?" he demanded of the intern who held out coffees for Pepper, Rodey, the SHIELD agent, and Tony as they approached his personal office. The intern smiled and raised a silky eyebrow suggestively. Tony ignored her and continued through the double doors of his office as Rodey cleared is throat sternly, causing the over-eager intern to scurry away. Pepper made a silent note to herself of the newest edition to what she referred to privately as the 'Female Fans of Stark" club, never looking up from her Blackberry. The SHIELD agent closed the door decisively behind them.

"Well," he drawled. "That wasn't exactly sticking to the story."

"A little improvisation never hurts. Pepper, fix me a drink would you?" he caught her significant look. "Come on Pepper, I need it, and you know just how I like them." The reproachful look stayed on her face. "Does anyone besides me find it bizarre that I have to plead with my secretary on a regular basis?" he asked the air, smiling at the expected sound of ice clinking and the tap of a glass against his shoulder. "Thank you."

"Tony, if we're going to protect your identity, you have to work with us. You can't just take any turn you like and leave us to clean up after you," Rodey lectured. "This is a new part of your life-"

"I don't feel the need to hide my identity, Rodey," Tony shot back. "When have I ever hid? My vacations, my cars, my home-"

"-Your women" interrupted Pepper.

"-Not necessary," Tony snapped, then sighed. "I'm sorry. But I am not going to hide. I won't be a face without a name, some un-approachable man in the papers!!"

"Yeah, well it's never bothered you before," Rodey muttered, rubbing his temples and turning to the wall.

"Mr. Stark," said the always-polite SHIELD agent. "Perhaps it would be best for us to reconvene, perhaps next week. I would suggest that you lie low, keep your actions low-profile. We, of course, will do our part to clear this all up." Tony nodded tersely.

"Very well. If that's all, I would like to go home and sleep. After all, I was just attacked by a robotic prototype. Pepper, call us a car."

Later, he turned to her, swirling another drink before taking a deep gulp. "Well, what do you think?" he said, loosening his collar.

"Quite in your style, Mr. Stark."

"Dashing and heroic?"

"Not quite how I would have put it, but of course, Mr. Stark."

"And how would you have put it, Ms. Potts?" he inquired, smiling. It amused him to hold a conversation with her, as he knew that her responses were always politely blunt and professional, although they both new that he valued her input as much as he enjoyed laughing at it.

"Well, Mr. Stark, I would have said rash and expectedly unexpected."

"Do you always think of me as Mr. Stark?"

"No, not always, Mr. Stark."

"Oh so you think about me away from work?" he said with a wicked grin as she flushed pink. He looked at the ceiling of the limo, swirling the golden liquor in his glass. "What is she thinking about when she thinks of me as just Tony?" he mused. "Dearest Tony. My Tony. Wildly handsome, charming, and seductive Tony-"

"Rather big-headed Tony, who has had a little much to drink."

"Pepper," he protested, as she took away his glass. "I've barely gotten started!"

"Exactly. You've had too much to drink." She smiled sweetly as he growled under his breath.

"Minx," he grumbled, his heart nevertheless warming as she smiled before returning to her phone.

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**thanx for reading! comment and review please, and any ideas for where this will go would be greatly appreciated!!**

**thanks again and lots of lub, ayapapayam.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much to those of you that reviewed the first chapter…I REALLY appreciated it. ******** . LOL, sorry about the weird repeat on the first posting of the second chapter…I couldn't figure out the uploading thingy! (It drove me crazy!!) **

**Just to give you a heads up, Tony Stark isn't very Tony Stark-ish in this chapter (I was very proud of capturing him the way I did in the first one, btw). I did this INTENTIONALLY. Were this a novel, I would have taken the time to blend over and more gradually expose the 'softer side of Tony,' in a more believeable way then just BAM! Instant sensitive Tony, but as it is, I don't want to drag this on and on and on…as much as I would like to. **

**So there. Thank you very much, and you know what to do…read and review!! (oh yeah, and any characters you recognize are most likely not mine).**

**=Confessions in the Dark=**

The clouds were dark in the sky and the stars had already begun to shine by the time that Virginia Potts popped her head into Tony Stark's workshop. She knew before she even started the stairs what she would see (Tony's dark haired head bent over the blueprints for some new technological toy or another, happily grumbling away).

Or perhaps he would be leaning back in his chair, bare feet propped up on his desk, fiddling with something shiny and metallic. His blue-black hair would be slicked back, his goatee a dark, sharp vee against his stubborn chin, companionably insulting his robotic assistants.

She closed her eyes.

She knew he would wear his navy blue sweatpants (that still had oil stains, even after she sent them to the best garment cleaner in Southern California), and his chest would be bare. The harsh lighting would becasting shadows across his eyes. His look would be intense, haughty, arrogant even, his high cheekbones proud and his eyes somewhere between cold and warm, polite and seductive. Tantalizingly confusing.

She stepped down onto the floor, saying a silent thanks (as she always did) that she hadn't tripped on her way down the frustratingly steep staircase.

"Mr. Stark, I've been reviewing your schedule for the week, and I suggest that…Mr Stark?" she questioned, frowning when he didn't respond. Then, harsher, "Mr. Stark!"

"I'm alive, Pepper," came the surprisingly soft response, bodiless in the darkness of the workshop.

"Mr. Stark, why aren't there any lights…" she carefully made her way through the cluttered tools and loose papers, her heart beating hard. Was that the corner of his desk? Or the corner of a computer? Or would that be the edge of the mini-fridge… she couldn't tell in the gloom.

"Right here," he said swiftly, and she squeaked in surprise as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist. Her heart fluttered as Tony Stark sat down with her still in his arms, and leaned back, burying her face in her hair with a sigh. She held her breath nervously.

"Mr. Stark, this is entirely un-appropriate," she stammered faintly, almost afraid to move. She had seen the glint of _the suit_ come from a corner of the shadows.

"Shhhh, quiet," he whispered. "There's no one here but you and me, now."

"Oh really?" she responded. "Jarvis!!" Blue lights swirled and blinked as Jarvis booted up.

"How may I be of assistance, Ms. Potts?" came the robot's polished British accent. Pepper smirked.

"That's okay, Jarvis. Return to sleep mode."

"As you wish, ma'am." The lights swirled again, and the computer was quiet.

There was a moment of silence between them until Tony broke it by chuckling.

"Point taken," he said, and sighed again. "Pepper…"

Pepper held her breath, trying to slide off of his lap. Of course he would notice, because she was sitting on him. But she still tried to do it without alerting him anyway.

"Don't go…" he said, almost panicked.

"It's okay," she said softly, alarmed at his sudden worry. "I'm right here." She paused. "Mr. Stark? Did you want to say something?"

He was silent for a while. "When I was held captive by the Ten Rings…" he was having difficulty speaking. Pepper wanted to soothe him, but was afraid to so much as twitch a muscle. He tried a different route.

"They tried to make my only companion swallow a red-hot coal before my eyes. The surgery with my chest plate…I had no pain killer, no injection to numb the pain. I could feel it all. Every cut. Every stitch."

"I've always been untouchable. Indestructable. Unreachable. And in less than a week, these people took away everything..."

She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to push him away and dash from the room.

She wanted to hold him against her and block his hurt from him, she wanted to stroke his hair and tell him it would all be okay, that he was home now. Did Iron Man have a home?

She did nothing.

"There were moments when I lost what was human inside of me. I would hear you call out my name... I wanted to answer, and I couldn't." She could feel his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. He smelled like oil and peppermint, and the faintest hint of aftershave.

"Sometimes I was ready to give up. I have nothing to live for, no family, no friends. Rhodey would mourn for an appropriate time and then move on, Obadiah would work the publicity to his advantage and take control of the company..."

"I know you've never taken me seriously. Hell, _I've_ never taken myself seriously. But your voice…so sweet, so innocent, always knowing more then you should, still never guessing at the whole truth…it kept me. Kept me what, I don't know, but it did. I had to stay alive to tell you that you were always there with me."

Pepper was crying now, hot tears coursing silently down her face. The soft blue light of the miniature arch reactor in his chest glowed in the dark. She hesitated before lifting her fingers to touch it gently, her fingertips brushing against the unforgiving metal, following the ridged white scar tissue around the plate before laying her cheek against it and closing her eyes. He groaned, startling her.

"Leave."

"What?" she asked, startled. "Ton-Mr. Stark?" He acknowledged the slip in her façade with a smile that she couldn't see, a warming of the heart that she couldn't feel. He sobered quickly.

"I value you. But I want you. So leave." His fingertips trailed her hip as she stood, wanting to hold her close, wanting to push her away. She turned and ran up the steps, her face flushed and burning, her heels clicking faintly on the stairs as she left the basement workshop. He heard her stumble once in the darkness (she was trying to adjust her jacket and check her hair at the same time) before the sound of her footsteps vanished all together.

He leaned his head back and laughed lowly, hoarsly, rubbing his hair and letting the darkness soothe his raging mind.

Iron Man, a body of metal.

Tony Stark, the life of a celebrity.

And Pepper Potts… undeniably made of flesh and bone. Timid, gentle, strong, stubborn. And with no idea of the change in his heart.

"Very smooth, Sir," commented Jarvis coolly. "You have advanced from having to apply effort in keeping women from getting close, to removing them from you all together. A new one, for Tony Stark."

"Aren't you a robot?" Tony snarled. "When did you get sarcasm?"

"I learn it from my maker, Sir. If there is a problem, I suggest you look to _your_ formatting. I am sure Ms. Potts would find _quite_ a few things worth adjusting."

"Shut it," he growled, leaning back again. Blue lights whirled again as Jarvis shut down.

Tony closed his eyes and let sleep whisk him away to dreams of fire arms and the Jericho, an older man asking him if he had a family, and Pepper calling his name fearfully from somewhere in the dark.

When he woke, Jarvis would inform him that three unauthorized orders of voice-sensitive weaponry had been detected, hidden near the Yucatan. He would leave a voice mail for Pepper telling her he had business to attend to south of the border, and that she had the day off, and to buy something skimpy for him to fantasize about on his flight. She would know that he meant 'as he flew.'

But for now, he slept, she wept, and _the suit_ glinted ominously from the shadows.

**Thanks for reading this far…stay with me!!! If you like it, review, if you don't like it, help me improve (hey, that rhymes!). Oh, random question…do you think I describe things too much? My parental unit says I do and that it ruins my story line…hmm…TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, hello… trying to make up for the long delay and all the confusion with the first chapter… Another heads up, a repeat of my goal in Chapter 2 here, but with Pepper…trying to show her casual not-at-work-with-a-billionare-and-huge-player side, but since I don't have enough time to do it gradually and convincingly, it is very choppy, so you'll just have to bear with me. **

**Oh, and with Favio's character, no offense meant to the LBGT (LGBT? Whatev) community out there… I know he is a stereotype, but he is actually based on a friend of mine who wanted to be in this story (I just gave him a different name). In his defense though, I don't think he's ever called someone pumpkin… **

**=Not a Second Thought=**

"How could he _do_ this?!" she raged, throwing a pillow as hard as she could against her wall (more specifically, against the miniature Van Gogh that he had given her. She instantly regretted it as it swung on its hinges).

"It's just a day off, little miss banana nut muffin," Favio said, bewildered (Pepper had smiled at her flamboyantly flaming friend's outfit when he walked in…a fresh manicure, flip flops, tight leather jeans, and a corset top…_he doesn't even have mammary glands and he still has more cleavage then I do_, she had thought). He handed her a cup of peppermint tea. "Baby, it's not like he fired you…"

"YEOWW!!!" she shrieked, sticking her tongue out and trying to give it a critical look. "Hot!!"

"Sorry," Favio shrugged. "But anyways, whats the big deal? Honey, I would_ die_ to be in your shoes…very cute by the way…Vuitton? Yes? Ooh, so chic… anways, where was I? Hm, yes. I would_ love _to have your job. Following hunk-a-licious around all day, getting a look at that cute butt every time he climbed the stairs-"

"Favio!" exclaimed Pepper in outrage. "I do _not!!_ I've never even _thought_ of it!!"

"Come on, sugar," said Favio in a wheedling tone. "You've never thought about what is underneath that gorgeous Armani suit?" He smiled as she blushed. "I thought so. Now, pumpkin. What are we going to do about this _mood_ you're in? Ooh! Manicures?" he pleaded.

"You already have one, Favio," she said with a smile. He held up his fingers and narrowed his eyes, making noises of distaste in his throat. She sighed.

"He just picked up and_ left_, Favio. Without telling me. Not a word! And not only do I have to reschedule all of his appointments ("That he barely would have made anyway," Favio interrupted), but I don't know where he is, what he's doing, or when he'll get back!"

"Baby, I don't think-"

"He could be _anywhere!!_ What if he gets hurt? What if he gets _arrested?_ He doesn't know his own social security number! He can't even walk in a strait line on a _good_ day!!"

"Peps, maybe you should just-"

"And of course he doesn't think about anyone _else._ The man is _insufferable._ He really doesn't think about the consequences of his actions, how much I _already _have to work the press, he just-" Favio snatched away her tea as it threatened to splosh all over her bed, and set it down on the bedside table. He reached for her hands and held them both in his, looking into her eyes until she calmed down from her hysterics. Her soft red hair had tumbled from what had started the morning as an elegant French twist, and her usually cool eyes were wild and glittery.

"Virgina Marie Potts," he said softly. "Would it hurt you so much to admit to yourself how you feel about him?"

Pepper looked at her friend with tearful eyes, trying to regain her composure.

"I am his personal assistant," she said firmly, more to herself than to Favio. "I attend to his scheduling and appointments, as well as anything else that Mr. Stark requires. He is my employer. I am his employee. His flirtations are casual, his approaches sexual, no different from the way he treats any other female in heels. I just need to remember that. He is my employer…" she repeated, and again, barely a whisper. Favio just looked at her with sad eyes, his broad shoulders and strong bones a sharp contrast against the feminine white cotton corset and glittering mascara.

_And now,_ Pepper reminded herself, _he has the suit. He is not just Tony. He is not simply Mr. Stark. He is now- _she forced herself to think it- _Iron Man_. She looked helplessly down at her hands, resting against her long legs. Why had she worn her pencil skirt and blouse? She wasn't going in to work today.

_Not only is he still not in your league, but he is barely human now…_

Life certainly did have a cruel sense of humor. Favio got up to rinse out their now-cold tea cups, as Pepper tried to think of an appropriate quote for her situation and emotions. Her skin jumped as the phone rang.

A clipped female voice informed her that there had been a situation of a most private matter in relation to Tony Stark's recent activities. The woman informed her that an unmarked car would arrive to pick her up in ten minutes and that she should be ready, and where should they pick her up? Images of Iron Man _(Tony Stark, _she reminded herself) laying hurt and alone on the ground flashed through her mind. She didn't ask any questions, just hurriedly rattled out her address (and directions from the nearest landmark) and told Favio that something had come up.

And when a town car pulled up below her house she got in without a second thought, and the only suspicion that crossed Favio's mind was that Pepper had simply not wanted to get a manicure.

**Thank you, thank you (wow, today is really my day for repeating myself). Please let me know what you think. I'm still kind of ho-humming about what is 'going down' here, so any suggestions for a plot would be greatly appreciated. Bye, bye… (ha ha, just kidding).**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much for the reviews!! You have no idea how happy I was to read them… Sorry about the delay, I have been having some issues with my ex (Job Opportunity: Wanted, Large Muscly Dude Not Afraid To Punch Out Other Large Muscly Dude). Buuuuut, here goes with the continuation!! As always, if you recognize a character then they aren't mine. And let me know what you think!! **

**-Down Through the Air (or, Blood and Metal)-**

As always, the sound of the winds slipping over the metal suit filled Tony with a dangerous quiver of excitement. The desire to fly just a little faster…dive a little longer…climb just a little higher in the sky and breath the air of the stars. He sighed, closing his eyes and allowing Jarvis to steer him to Colonol Rhodes' house.

His cheek smarted where it had grazed the inside of his helmet. A bomb had gone off in the warehouse he'd been inspecting, and the impact had thrown him against the wall. He imagined the blooming bruises decorating his skin already from last week's mission, and cringed. Pepper would be furious.

_Pepper…_

He cringed again, remembering his confession in the dark. Not a blushing man, he nevertheless felt heat rising to his face. He couldn't believe it. Going all sentimental. I _need_ you. I stayed _alive_ for you. Who _said_ that kind of crap? He frowned as he sent orders to the home database to clean up the mansion for his eventual arrival home.

"Jarvis," he ordered. "Send a message to Pepper that I will be at work again on Monday, and if she could juggle my appointments around so that being at work on Monday doesn't actually require _working_ on Monday."

He relaxed into the suit again and half closed his eyes, idly watching the world slip by underneath him.

_Aww, how cute,_ he thought._ Cows._

"My apologies, Sir," came Jarvis' polished British accent about an hour later. "But Pepper's voice mail box has not returned the mandatory notification of my messages being opened. Also, there is no answer at her office, at her mobile phone, or at her home residence, although GPS says that she is still at home, and has been for several hours."

"Hmm…" he frowned. "Odd. Maybe she's watching porno, or something. What a disappointment. She could have waited for me. Let me know when she responds, and keep trying, I need her to help with my speech for the Board on Wednesday," he ordered.

"Yes, Sir. However, the meeting with the Board was _last _Wednesday."

"Oh. Oops. Did she take care of that?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Oh. Okay. Sooo, no worries. That's all, Jarvis."

"Excuse me, Sir…"

"What?" Tony said, annoyed, pulling up the music screen and snorting as _Caress Me Down _by Sublime popped up. He hadn't listened to those guys since his surfer bum days in high school...

"Ms. Pott's cellular device is running out of energy." Tony snapped to attention, pulling his mind away from the explicit lyrics that invoked images of the four _very _attractive models he had met two days ago.

"What? That cell phone runs off of solar and wind power, _and _has a back-up battery that only needs to be charged for an hour to last for almost an entire month…"

"I am aware of that, Sir."

"Well, then where is she that it isn't working?"

"Sir…I think it is located beneath her couch."

There was a silent pause before Tony spoke, his voice cold and harsh as the wind howling past him as he increased his speed from 80 to 98 percent.

"Re-route for arrival at home, and have a car ready to drive to Pepper's apartment. And Jarvis?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Make it a _fast_ car."

Three hours later, when Tony Stark fished out Pepper's cell phone from under a cozy brown leather couch, he didn't even think about the little spider crawling over the funny round bone at his wrist. He didn't notice the dust bunnies sprinkling lint on his crisp black shirt.

He screamed in fury, anger and fear, tucking the phone into his pocket, 13 missed messages and all.

And he went home to don the suit yet again.

"Where is Mr. Stark?" they demanded.

"Nggg…"

"Where is Mr. Stark?!" they demanded again, jabbing her temple with the butt of their gun, lightly enough to keep her from blacking out again, but heavily enough to make her already woozy eyes swim even more.

"I don't know."

"You lie! Tell us where he is, and where he keep the blueprints for his latest invention."

"I. Don't. Know," she snarled, her lips curling over surprisingly white teeth as she yanked at the ropes tying her to a chair. "He is on buisiness. That's all I know, that's all I can say." She tried to reach the end of her bonds with her fingertips, but they kept sliding out of her grasp. Her fingers were numb and throbbing from the tight ropes.

"We're not afraid to kill you, little spice-haired one," the speaker laughed. She finally fixed her eyes on him in the gloom. Not particularly tall, but built strongly. More width then height, and all of it muscle and brawn. "We would not even bother holding you ransom, but you are the closest Tony Stark has to family."

He walked over to her, sneering. He picked up a lock of her now-lank red hair, inhaling deeply and fingering it. "Although we are sure you are at least _very _close friends…" Pepper whipped her head to the side and snapped her teeth, trying to bite his fingers.

He punched her, and her lip split. She began to cry, and when she licked her lips, sobbing, she could taste her blood and her tears as they ran down her face.

He brought his face close to hers, and she recoiled from the broad planes of his face, the sharp nose and prominent chin and hard, heavy lips.

"Aaaah…" he breathed, sinking his fingers into her knotted her hair and nibbling the tender skin of her ear. "Now she's afraid…" His fist slammed into her stomach.

_Help me… oh, God…_

He moved behind her, grabbing her face roughly so that she could see the camera pointed at her. He kissed her neck, his fingers trailing along her breast as she clenched her jaw and closed her eyes and sobbed.

…_Walk in the valley of the shadow of…_

"We have your assistant, Mr Stark," came the man's cold voice. "We expect you to be here to collect within the week…"

…_Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those…_

"And though it is cheesy, we believe you will_ deeply _regret not arriving on time…"

And that was when the bite of the whip latched it's teeth to the back of Virginia Potts.

…_The day is past and over…_

Before the darkness at the corners of her eyes consumed her vision, before the harsh snap of the wind as it ripped the clothes on her back, the last thing she heard was her skin splitting open.

Every sound was acute. The blood trickling down her back. The skin on her lip yielding to her teeth as she bit, trying not to scream. Her own sobbing and shrieking…and then all faded, and all was silence, and all was velvet and dark and cool…

…_Save me through the coming night…_

**Hey, thanks for staying with me… sorry about the delay! Started this, then stopped, and now finished with this chapter! Just got back from my class's senior trip… TO WAIKIKI!! Loved it, had lots of fun. Feel great about typing up an update for you, and can't wait to hear what you think!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Am very very very sorry about the delay… I would give you a really good reason, but it would only be an excuse because I don't have a really good reason. If you have stayed with me, thank you, your support is my greatest inspiration. If you are new to my little novella, then I hope you like it, and tell me what you think. As always, if you recognize them, they aren't one of mine.**

**-Disbelieving-**

"Pepper," a voice whispered. "Pepper…"

She shifted slightly, and Tony's throat constricted as he saw the bruises, still bleeding underneath, and the sharp stripes left by the tip of the whip that curved around her broken ribcage. Left only in her underwear, her skinny body was a kaleidoscope of violence and damage.

"Pepper," he whispered again, more urgently. His anger flared. Were those hickeys? If not for the night vision in his helmet, he would not have been able to see. The dirt-floored cell was lit only by a tiny grate on one wall. "You have to wake up." He reached forward to check for a pulse, but as his fingertip brushed her battered skin she screamed, a high, animal sound that sent chills down his spine and a hammering in his heart. She began to cry and thrash, her now-wide eyes glassy and feverish.

"I don't know where he is!" she said, panicked.

"Neither do I, but I expect a rather energetic meeting when I find out." Tony paused, considering that maybe she didn't mean her terrorizor. "Where who is?"

"Where Tony is…I don't know. I can't tell you"

Unthinking, he placed a hand on her knee as he tried to meet her eyes. She shrieked, trying to back away. He saw where the ropes had chewed at her bound wrists. Sitting on a stool with her back to a metal pole, her hands were tied behind her and around it, her waist tightly secured to the shining steel, her ankles and knees to the stool itself, and yet another rope around her neck to keep her from falling.

_Infection,_ Tony thought grimly, as he saw the filth that had accumulated on the ropes that yanked at her open skin. His stomach lurched as he saw that she had been bound and shoved against the pole only after being lashed with a whip and a… a club?

"He left me," she was whimpering. "He said he would be back. He missed his meeting. He left me, he left me…" her speech slurred into a nonsensical babble. "I'm nothing," was all he could discern. "I'm nothing."

"Pepper, it's me," he said, raising his voice. "I'm here to take you home."

"Daddy? No one left at home," she chortled histerically, eyes searching and glazed. "They burned the curtains and the bedcover…and…and…" she began to cry again. "I didn't even find my size," she wailed.

"I'm not your daddy," Tony said carefully, aching. "But I've come to help you. Do you know me?" he asked, breathless. She frowned, strawberry hair tangled in her eyes.

"Parents died in accident, overly sexual, introverted, tendency to drink, overly social, extremely technologically skilled, social security number…" her lips trembled as he chuckled despite himself. "I don't remember…I don't know… he doesn't show me his blueprints, I can't tell you anything…please, stop…"

"It's me," he told her urgently, trying not to acknowledge that he was crying. Tony Stark didn't cry. Iron Man didn't cry. "It's Tony."

"Mr Stark?" she murmured. He affirmed this, moving to cut her ropes. "You're not here," she giggled. "You can't get in. I can't get in. I'm lost, I'm lost…" she sang. Tony prayed (_since when do I pray?_) that she wasn't truly lost, lost in her own mind.

"I had Jarvis track three missing shipments. After finding and returning these, he reported you missing, and tracked a phone call to another arms manufacturer with illegal ties. Their inbox had a text message referring to a success with the secretary, but she wouldn't tell him where the 'blue copy' and the 'suit case' were, and a vacation to this location," he told her as he worked on the ropes, talking to keep his mind busy. "Jarvis searched, but we were both right. This place doesn't exactly have hotels, even. It had to be you. So I came," he said.

"Oh. Antoine, Antonio, Antony, Anthony…"

"Yes," he said, and the last rope slithered away from her ankles as he cut it. "It's me. Let's go."

"Are we taking the train back? I don't like trains. Funny little green men tried to kill the grand duchess."

"What?" he exclaimed, bewildered.

"Well," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "The bat wasn't really happy about it all. But he found love in the end…"

"It's okay, babe," he murmered gently. "We're flying." He tried to pick her up without touching her bruises or sores or broken ribs or cuts or peeling flesh. He doubted it was even possible. She was heavy in his arms, not having the energy to hold herself up. Bile rose in his mouth as he grew disgusted with himself as he felt his libido stirring at the nakedness of her body, battered as it was. _Come on, man. Don't even look. Have some respect…_

"Aaah…" she sighed, flinching from the chilled metal. "Is the plane cold? I lost my sweater somewhere…"

"Shit." He looked around, knowing he wouldn't find her clothes, but his eyes rested on a filthy blanket heaped in a corner. Smelling strongly of it's previous owner, still, it was large enough to wrap around her.

"Let's go," he whispered, and turned to exit through the melted door (he had sent a flame-thrower at it, but it ended up being cheap metal anyway).

What happened next Pepper would never know. There was a harsh snarl from behind, a throaty _oh no you don't_, and the sound of a gun firing. The sound of Tony's breath catching sharply as the blast sent him stumbling forward, and the sound of her own scream as she fell from his arms.

She blinked faintly.

Was that sunlight?

She hoped the grass wasn't scratchy, but she had the sneaking suspicion that it was.

_I should have brought sunscreen_ she mused, and once again (she was beginning to sense a pattern) her world went cold.

**Bleak, yes. But it's okay. Have faith. I have seen far too many Disney movies to let this end badly. Speaking of, did anyone catch the reference to one of them here? Brownie points to whoever can guess it. That movie is, by the way, the reason that I personally HATE trains. Hope you like! Review, review! TBC (BTW…the next chapter is already written and waiting for the ending paragraph (don't worry, still more to come…) so keep in touch!!!)**


	6. Chapter 6

**And so we continue with…**

**-Good Morning, Sunshine-**

Bleep… bleep… bleep…

Pepper heard a tense breathing, heard hands running through dirty hair. Was it her own? Her eyes blinked open. White walls. White sheets. White cabinets. Stainless steel accents. Scary looking monitors. A hospital? Oh God…

Her eyes fell on Tony Stark, head in hands, his eyes closed and face carefully slack, his proud shoulders slumped and trembling. They traveled to a tray holding a muffin, some oatmeal, chocolate pudding, and red jell-o.

"I hate jell-o," she rasped out hoarsly. Tony choked, shooting up out of his chair and appearing by her side. She wrinkled her nose.

"You smell funny," she told him. And he did. He reeked of cheap alcohol and low-quality weed and sweat and McDonalds french fries. He smiled.

"So would you if you thought you were in a room with a dying person," he told her. She snickered, wincing at the strain on her ribs.

"What happened? Were…did you…I thought that…"

"Shhhh," he murmured. "Jarvis told me you cell phone was under the couch in your apartment. I found it, and looked at your calls. Why do you have so many photos of horses on it?" he asked abruptly. Her face flushed. "And how is it that you blush even in a hospital bed? That's pretty weird…"

"You looked through my phone? You went to my apartment? That's personal!"

"Well, there wasn't anything personal on it. I pay for your apartment too, by the way, so I wouldn't be so accusing. Besides," he said with a rogueish grin. "If you had seen what you had been wearing when I found you, you would attach a whole new definition to the word personal. Or what you weren't wearing, I guess I should say…" he mused.

She gasped, glaring at him as a nurse bustled in, doing nurse-y things with the equipment and asking nurse-y questions and informing her in a brusque nurse-y way that she had ten minutes before the sleeping medication kicked in.

"What," she hissed, "is that supposed to mean?"

"Well," he drawled. "It was quite obvious that you were cold, and those underwear would have been sexy if they weren't covered in dirt…" he laughed, wheezing at her outraged face. "I though I was going to get stabbed with one of your bones!"

She swore at him, much to his delight, and his chuckling gradually faded away.

"I though I had lost you," he told her, searching her eyes.

"I though I was lost," she laughed, with a coldness in her voice that had never been there before that made him recoil. "But you found me." He smiled sadly.

"Did you think I wouldn't?"

"I though you would send someone. Or put it on your to-do list."

"You think I actually have a to-do list?" he exclaimed incredulously. She laughed, picking at the sheets.

"Point taken."

"Pepper, _you _are my to-do list." He paused, face flaming. "Wait, that didn't sound right…"

"No," she mused, fingers and eyes fluttering as the medication pulled her into slumber. "It didn't."

"What I'm trying to say is that I need you. Your laugh, your wit, your sparkling eyes, your coy smile." He struggled to express himself. "Pepper, I- I can't go another day without the feel of your body, the smell of your hair, the click of those ridiculously sexy heels. I… I want you, and I need you. To be always by my side. To always be with me. To be mine, and only mine."

"You know," she mumbled, her words slurring. "I think I knew that." She yawned widely, shaking her head a little bit and closing her eyes. "But now is not the time, Mr Stark," she said softly. His heart dropped, and he nodded numbly.

She opened one eye that glinted with humor. "Hospital beds weren't made for that kind of thing."

His jaw dropped in disbelief, and she slipped away into dreams of horses answering red-and-gold cell phones.

**Weird? Yes. Overly cheesy? Yes. Do I want to finish this soon? Yes. TBC? Yes… As always, RARD (Review After Reading, Dammit!)**


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